A “Tail” of Two Halves

by Corey Hunter-Park

It was a game of two halves at the YCAC as the Wommies squared up against the Pommies for the first time since the Wombats had vanquished the hated enemy in the Japan Cup Finals. Joe “Spider” Lewis was one of three Wombats to betray their King and Country as he led out his team on his captaincy “debut” against the British (Embassy). Despite Joe’s first ball of the day going the distance for 4, the skipper and Nigel “Nice Bowling Nige” McKay built pressure on the Poms, finally seeing off the 28-run opening stand in the sixth over with an easy take from Max Turnbull off Nige’s bowling.

“Long tail here, lads,” stated the skipper, as he tacticked up the second bowling tandem of Max and Louis Chan. After being let loose from the NigeJoe vice they had been under, the Brits tried to accelerate, smacking Max and Louis for a combined 30 off their first overs, but a slog too many saw Louis take out the second of the openers with another sweet catch from Max on the run. “Long tail, they have a long tail,” again came the call.

Following the breakthrough, the two bowlers were able to bowl out their allocation with a touch more control, keeping the rate down. Louis could have had a second, a catch dropped and spilled over the boundary, but Max would take his first T20 Wommie Wicket the next over, and the British Embassy would be 94/3 after 14 with an assuredly long tail about to walk out. Next up, Sanira Shimizu and Aidan Sarawan. Sanira bowled well for no reward, but it was Aidan who would rip through the Brits a wicket maiden followed by a hattrick, so cruelly denied by the umpire thanks to Ash’s hands being too quick and keen. After his second, it was 115/6 after 18.”It was all luck,” said Aidan, walking off after his first over, baffled that they couldn’t get him away for even a single run.

Joe bowled himself at the death, sights firmly set on wrapping up proceedings for a sub-120 score, finally getting a well-earned wicket following a bloodless powerplay, Louis taking a smart catch. Aidan (who else?) would bowl the 20th over and take the final two wickets, including robbing a 13 year old boy after the umpire awarded a catch despite the ball being in another post-code.

If the Brits had a long tail, though, the Wombats were a snake. A target of 125 set, the boys got to work. Ash and Devon Snyder were the opening partnership, but it was broken after two overs for just 9 runs, Devon suffering the ignominy of getting bowled out by a bowler born in 2012. He would not be the last. Max’s innings started promisingly before lobbing one up, going for 8. Louis would soon return to the sheds, the second victim of the “Junior High School Jimmy Anderson”, while Ieuan Hames ran well but also departed for single figures.

Hopes rested on Aidan, hero of the first innings, and Nigel. The two appeared as if they could hold a bat. Nigel was determined to see off the opening bowling pair, hoping the depth of the bowling attack was inversely proportional to the length of the Embassy tail, but Aidan was a man in a hurry. Two fours off two balls saw him announce his intentions, and a scampered single to retain strike showed the Embassy that here was a man to ruin their day. The next ball, still in a hurry to put anything on the board, he set off for another quick single and came up way short, back to the sheds.

At 30/5, the Wombats were in desperate territory. Off the next five wickets, only 10 runs would come off the bat. Corey Hunter-Park departed for 0, chipping one up to become the third Wombat to fall to a bowler more concerned about his exams. Nigel’s 14-ball resistance, the longest innings of any Wommie on the day, went for 6, while Ash copped a golden duck. The Skipper added two, while Adam “El Presidente” Birss got a rare chance to swing his arm, also lasting a meaty 14 balls before being bowled, stranding Sanira on 2(6*), ending a poor day for the Wombats.

There was some deep, post-game reflection amongst the lads, funded by Louis generously leaving a whole 10k for beer money. Ash, near perfect behind the stumps, reflected on the fact that he had lived more years than runs the Wombats scored, while Aidan cursed that consolation beer does not taste half as sweet as victory beer. At least no-one hit it over the nets.